The British Columbia Law Institute (BCLI) has an announcement, relevant to all those in the franchise industry, with special focus on the legal profession.

British Columbia does not have franchise legislation, being one of the last provinces in Canada to look at the problem. Here is the announcement.

"The British Columbia Law Institute (BCLI) has begun a new project on franchise legislation for British Columbia. The project will examine whether there is a need for franchise legislation in British Columbia and, if so, what features it should have.

There is typically an inequality in bargaining power between franchisees and franchisors in negotiating complex legal agreements, with franchisees at a significant disadvantage in terms of disclosure of information and control of business decisions.

"Unlike some other provinces in Canada, BC does not have any legislation to regulate franchises and provide legal protections for franchisees," noted BCLI executive director Jim Emmerton. "Through this project we hope to address this concern by reviewing the Uniform Franchises Act and making recommendations on whether this Act is an appropriate model for BC".

Key features of the Uniform Franchises Act, a prototype statute developed by the Uniform Law Conference of Canada, are provisions dealing with disclosure, the duty of fair dealing, rights to rescission, damages for misrepresentation, and dispute resolution.

BCLI aims to promote and contribute extensively to an informed discussion on the question of franchise regulation in BC. BCLI will publish a consultation paper with tentative recommendations, which will be used to consult broadly with the public. BCLI will then produce a report with final recommendations and draft legislation. A backgrounder on the project is available on the BCLI website

BCLI strives to be a leader in law reform by carrying out the best in scholarly law reform research and writing and the best in outreach relating to law reform."